Karin Bole Tupper ~ Thoughts, Musings, Dreams… Painted In Words

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On this day… 15 July 2012.
Being of Welsh descent, I love the stories of King Arthur. The poems I write about this time are usually accompanied with imagined music and handclapping; they “rolic” along.
Enjoy this blast from Eclectic’s past!

I’m sorry that this is two ME posts in a row rather than at least a rhyming couplet however, time is running out.

The 25th of March is the submission deadline and I want all my friends, family and colleagues who’ve watched me “disappear” over the last year or two to sign this petition.

Please, help me to help those of us who may be so negatively impacted by Myalgic Encephalomyelitis that they are bed-bound, unable to muster the energy to use a computer. If every one of my followers signed this petition, there would be close to 10,000 voices demanding the end of abusive PACE & GET “therapies”. I do not expect to see a cure in my lifetime but I remain optimistic that there can be medically-sound treatments.

I support this initiative to shine a light and to generate funds that are for: “Fighting the stigma, improving access to care, supporting world-class research and leading by example in workplace mental health.”

Five years ago, I was literally brought to my knees by events in my life that escalated my Depression and Anxiety to a level beyond my ability to cope. How humbling for someone who has always considered herself and been considered “the strong one”.

I have never spoken about this at any length to anyone other than my best friend, who’s intervention saved my life. In fact, for the first two years, I did everything to hide my struggle but it’s time for any and all mental health challenges to come out of the closet.

This year, I had the courage of my convictions and my diagnosis, adding the Bell “Let’s Talk” frame to my profile photo on Social Media. I meant what I said. I will listen. How disappointing then, to see the number of short-sighted and erroneous comments made by many people, “Scam” being among the most prevalent. Let’s start with this:

Someone needs to explain to me the hostility and spreading of misinformation that this particular campaign engendered. There are many fundraisers out there that benefit the sponsor as much and sometimes more than the cause. The annual CHEO, Heart & Stroke and Dream Of A Lifetime are some that are better known. Why the backlash against Bell? Is it because their marketing team scored big with harnessing the power of social media and is highly visible? Shouldn’t that be the point – especially for the historical stigma that is attached to Mental Illness?

Social Media works. In generation “Click and Care”, to which the vast majority of us belong; this is a brilliant strategy. At the end of the day, 31 January 2018, more people became aware, more funds were donated and yes, Bell may even have scored a handful of new customers. Tell me how this could possibly be a bad thing.

To the linear thinkers who were so eager to jump on an idealist bandwagon – do your research before making such blinkered comments. This campaign is far larger than Ma Bell and if you can’t see that, you need to reexamine your compassion. To the folks out there who say “why doesn’t Bell just donate a large sum of money…” you missed the point. For those individuals with a large audience of people who are inclined to agree because they think a “popular” person must be right, you missed an opportunity.